Norway’s World Cup team is a house divided

Norway’s World Cup team is a house divided, with shattered dreams that will be difficult to mend quickly. One image and one statement exemplify the team’s state of mind. Following the unexpected loss (1-0) against New Zealand, star player Ada Hegerberg confronted her teammates, delivering a stern rebuke that reverberated throughout the stadium – either stand with me or against me. After a scoreless draw with Switzerland, Caroline Graham Hansen, Norway’s other star player, spoke to the press after being relegated to the bench. “I feel like I’ve been trampled on this year. Everyone talks about unity and teamwork. I’m not asking for a free pass, but I think I’ve earned some respect,” she said, clearly directing her anger at coach Hege Riise. Hansen apologized hours later. But Norway’s problems – with both Hegerberg and Hansen – go way back.

In 2017, Hegerberg resigned from Norway’s national team, citing pay and infrastructure inequality between the women’s and men’s teams. Her resignation was a bitter pill to swallow for a team that had just been knocked out of the EuroCup in the first round – one of their stars was bailing out of a sinking ship. Pay equality was in place for the 2019 World Cup, but Hegerberg declined to join the team. However, she made known her desire to play for Norway in this World Cup, and was accepted back.

Hansen suffered numerous injuries and contemplated quitting soccer in 2018. “It’s over – I want to quit,” she told her mother. But her teammates changed her mind and Hansen returned as a winger for Barcelona. When Norway was humiliated 8-0 by England in the most recent EuroCup, coach Martin Sjögren was dismissed. Sjögren had built the team around Hansen, who always spoke highly of the Swedish coach. “We have to look in the mirror and admit that this was just plain ugly,” hissed Hegerberg, who resigned from the national team when the coach was fired. “I don’t really feel like I owe anything to the new coaches,” she said at the time. But after a year off, she wanted back in and coach Hege Riise gave one of Norway’s best players a place on the team.

Riise, a Norwegian soccer legend, holds the record for the most matches played for the national team (188). She was also crowned the best player in the 1995 World Cup, and has played crucial roles on the US and English teams. But despite all these remarkable achievements, there is no peace for Riise. She faced frequent criticism from her own players, creating a volatile situation that Riise has struggled to resolve.”The offense was too far forward and the defense was too far back – I was all alone,” said midfielder Engen after the match against New Zealand. Later, Hansen was absent from practice due to an illness. Hegerberg felt some groin discomfort during the warm-up for the Switzerland match and didn’t play. In fact, all three of Norway’s stars didn’t play in the match that ended in a draw and left Norway at the bottom of the group. The team can still advance to the next round if they beat the Philippines by a wide margin, although this seems unlikely since Norway has played six hours without scoring a goal.

Hansen made a press appearance the day after her outburst and said, “I just want to apologize for my statements after the match. I’m just a human being with a lot of feelings… I took the focus away from what matters, and that is being here to play the World Cup.” But earlier she said, “Maybe I need to look in the mirror and be less self-centered,” echoing Hegerberg’s post-EuroCup words a few years earlier.

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